SP3i or not?

[Guest elvie]

Well,

Looking to ge a new smartphone [got the e200 at the mo].

About the only current contender at the moment is the i-mate SP3i as far as I can tell. Do I upgrade?

Or is there some new phones comming out soon that are worth waiting for?

Hearing a lot about 'Windows Mobile 5'; Is it worth waiting for, when's a phone with it going to be released?

At the same time, I'll probally want to change from Orange to 02 [etc.] as I'm getting quite sick on the Orange people and £100 pcm bills!!

So is there going to be new phones avaliable on non-orange worth waiting for?

TIA

[Guest usdiver]

Hi, just to say I've recently bought an orange c500, I'm also on o2. You can get the phone unlocked from orange or imei-check.co.uk and if you want the black one you can get them for about £140 new on up. Don't go second hand or ebay unless you can find one with which the seller will give you the original orange receipt (for warranty purposes), it's a bit more expensive but worth the extra cost in the long run. I don't know about the sp3i, but if you are in the uk, you need to really make sure the phone operates on the right frequency...ie: audiovox smt 5600 works on 850, 1800,1900 (not the right choice for the uk but great for the us): c500 works on 900, 1800, and 1900 (not great for the us but perfect for the uk): imate sp3 and sp3i (I don't know what frequencies they operate on). As far as upgrading to the sp3i vs the sp3 or c500 vs c550 really depends on if you want a joystick or bar (the bar isn't as bad as what the reviewers say, but joystick is a bit easier). All in all, it depends on what you want as the c550 isn't that much more of an upgrade than the c500. I personally love the c500, but could happily go with an sp3 or sp3i (if the frenquencies were suitable)...I don't like the looks of the c550. Oh, forgot to mention, orange is going to release a new uk rom update for the c500 soon with windows media 10 installed. However if you buy a new one they are shipping them with the new rom update already installed. Not trying to sell you on anything, just giving you all the info I know and my opinion...but then, everyone is different and you have to get what suits you the best. The main thing about the imates, if you are in this country, is the frequency operating range. Hope this helps

[Guest Confucious]

The C500 is the best phone at the moment but due to be replaced by the C550. The SP3 is the same as t C500 and the SP3i has a joystick instead but is basically the same phone. The other version available in the UK is the T-Mob SDA.

The disadvantages of the SP3\SP3i is that AFAIK no one does them on contract and hence they are expensive compared to the alternatives. If you really want to dump Orange then the SDA is your only real alternative in the UK (unless you are willing to pay...). You couls always try getting Orange to give you a free upgrade and match a price plan from another operator - it doesn't help with poor CS but I believe Orange actually have better CS than most (I know it's hard to believe butuntil you've encountered the others...)

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

HTH

[Guest elvie]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.

Basically I'm sick of my E200 and want a new phone. I also want to change from orange for two reasons:

1: I just don’t like orange

2: I can get a better deal with a new company [ie: 3 months double text’s and minutes etc.

So my real question is:

Do I upgrade to a i-mate SP3i now, or is there a better phone being released soon [will the c500 be released on a different network? Called something totally different like i-mate jam-in-your-pocket-must-defferentate-the-same-phone-to-confuse-people 2]?

TIA

[Guest Confucious]

Did you read my reply?

The T Mobile SDA is the same basic phone - it is the only other version available on a network in the UK.

Orange match other peoples offers.

The SP3i is not available on contract in the UK AFAIK.

There are no other plans to release another version on contract apart from the C550 on Orange. AFAIK.